You sometimes hear people talk about quantum leaps as a metaphor: “We have
made a quantum leap”. If you study physics, you learn about quantum leaps in the
lectures on quantum mechanics, of course. That’s where the metaphor comes from.
In the physics lectures, you also learn that a quantum leap is incredibly
small. Usually, it’s an integer times Planck’s constant, which is order 10 to
the power minus 34 (in units of Js, Joule seconds). That is, 0.000…01, with 34 zeros after the decimal point
and before the digit 1. Correspondingly, the Planck length is order 10 to power the minus 35 meters. That's the scale of the quantum leaps.
The Planck length does not have a clear physical meaning, but Planck's constant does. Multiplied by frequency, it's the typical separation between the energy levels of a quantized system (e.g. a harmonic oscillator), and hence the magnitude of a quantum leap.
So whenever I hear a car or computer manufacturer claiming
that they have made a technological quantum leap, I think this is not an
improvement worth paying for, if you see what I mean.
Good point. It's a tiny distance. Just sounds impressive.
ReplyDeleteHaving a good time on the slopes?
Yes, lif on the slopes is good. Last day of skiing tomorrow, before going back to work (which is fun too)
DeleteUhm, if I understood what you wrote, I would say that I just made a quantum leap.
ReplyDeleteThe View from the Top of the Ladder
Probably even more than a quantum leap >:)
DeleteVery well explained! I hate it when people use expressions that they really don't understand. My biggest pet peeve in language is when someone is making an announcement and actually says, "So contact Mark or myself for more information." I think to myself (hahahaha), "Would they stand up there and say contact myself? I don't think so, they'd say contact ME." But then I heard a guy making an announcement and he actually said, "So contact myself for more information." I wanted to throw something at him, or at least send the word-nerd police after him.
ReplyDeleteI'm drinking ginger ale, which I don't think you have, but the ginger really settles the stomach, as does the carbonation. I'm sure coke would work, too, but I prefer this.
Happy skiing!
Tina @ Life is Good
A to Z Team @ Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2014
I hope the ginger ale helps. We have something with basically the same name (ingerfærøl), but it's a very drink. My favorite drink when we lived in Colorado was AriZona ice tea >:)
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